Stellwagen Bank Final EIS and Management Plan 



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feeding on fish and squid. 



Striped dolphins CStenella coeruleoalba : 6 to 8 feet, 

 or 1.8 to 2.4 meters in length) are seen occasionally 

 in the Gulf of Maine. This species generally prefers 

 more pelagic waters, along the edge of the 

 continental shelf. Diet consists primarily of fish and 

 squid. 



Grampus (or Risso's dolphin) (Grampus griseus : 9 

 to 13 feet, or 1.27 to 3.96 meters in length) are 

 generally considered absent from the Gulf of Maine, 

 although there have been several individuals 

 recorded. More normally, this species stays outside 

 the 100-meter contour, south of Cape Cod. 

 Grampus feed almost exclusively on squid. 



3. Pinnipeds 



Two pinniped species occur commonly in the 

 Sanctuary area: the harbor seal (Phoca vitulina ); 

 and the gray seal (Halichoerus grypus ). 



Harbor seals are common from Labrador to Long 

 Island, New York (and occasionally found as far 

 south as South Carohna and Florida). It is the most 

 abundant pinniped species in eastern United States 

 waters. Harbor seals are widely distributed in 

 nearshore waters along the coast, preferring 

 sheltered and undisturbed rocky ledge haulout areas 

 in bays and estuaries from Maine south to 

 Plymouth, Massachusetts. 



During the first half of the 20th century, harbor 

 seals bred as far south as Cape Cod Bay, but 

 currently are only seasonal residents in southern 

 New England (from late September until late May). 

 State bounties in southern New England states 

 existed until 1962, and probably caused not only an 

 overall reduction in seal populations, but also a 

 northerly shift in distribution of breeding 

 populations. Breeding occurs from late April until 

 late June, and exclusively north of Massachusetts. 



Since the passage of the Marine Mammal 

 Protection Act in 1972, harbor seal populations have 

 increased steadily. In 1983, estimates of Maine's 

 harbor seal population were 12,000 to 15,000 

 animals, and increasing. Approximately 4,000 of 

 these (or 25% of the New England population) 



overwinter south of Maine, and 60% of these (or 

 2,4(X) animals) occur on and around Cape Cod 

 (Payne, etal., 1983). 



Harbor seals are opportunistic feeders, preferring 

 small schooling fishes such as herring, squid, 

 alewife, flounder, and hake. In the relatively deep 

 waters of southern New England, redfish, cod, 

 herring, and yellowtail flounder are also consumed. 

 In the shallower waters adjacent to Cape Cod, and 

 within the Sanctuary proposal area, harbor seals 

 feed almost exclusively on sand eel (or sand lance). 



Gray seals (Halichoerus grypus ) are the most 

 abundant pinniped species occurring in southern 

 areas of eastern Canada, from Labrador south 

 through the Bay of Fundy. Population estimates for 

 the Canadian Maritimes were 40,0(X) to 50,000 

 animals and increasing in 1983. Gray seal colonies 

 in the Gulf of Maine, however are much smaller 

 (approximately 6(X) animals in 1983). 



In the 1940's, the Massachusetts population of 

 gray seals numbered about 70 animals; and by 1963, 

 this population was reduced to 20 or fewer seals as 

 the result of bounty kills. The remaining resident 

 Massachusetts population is located southwest of 

 Nantucket Island, and is the only active breeding 

 population in the eastern United States. Pupping 

 occurs in mid-winter; however, pupping rates have 

 been low. The total gray seal population 

 overwintering in Massachusetts numbered more 

 than 100 animals in 1986, likely due to the 

 immigration of seals from the expanding Canadian 

 population. 



Gray seals feed both on fish and invertebrates, as 

 they are available. The Nantucket Island population 

 most commonly feeds on skates, alewife, and sand 

 eel, which are abundant from mid-winter to late 

 spring. 



g. Seabirds 



Over 40 species of marine birds are found 

 throughout the year in the southwestern Gulf of 

 Maine (Payne and Seltzer, 1986). Although they 

 return to land to breed, seabirds spend anywhere 

 from 50 to 90 percent of their Uves at sea, foraging 

 and competing with other predators for food (Fisher 



